LIVE OAK -- In response to an online petition to clamp down on suspected stolen bicycles at the Santa Cruz Flea Market, leaders this week renewed their stance against fencing.

Steve Schlicht, a bicycle advocate from Santa Cruz, launched a website at www.santacruzbikebase.com this week in part because he was frustrated with bike thefts.

The site includes a petition to Goodwill Industries of Santa Cruz County to ban bike sales because he thought it fueled a black market. Goodwill runs the Santa Cruz Flea Market on Soquel Drive, which is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Michael Paul, president of Goodwill, said authorities inspected vendors about a month ago and in August. He said the problem was minimal, but added that, "There's always improvements that can be made."

Friday, a few dozen vendors sold books, produce, clothing, as well as about 30 bikes and various bike parts.

Paul and Graff noted that vendors pay $15-$35 for a space at the flea market.

"We know that a lot of our drug users and people in homeless camps are stealing bikes," Clark said. "We catch them with bikes that are way out of their price range."

Santa Cruz police have more than 100 bikes in storage that have been recovered.

During sweeps of illegal camps in the city of Santa Cruz and county areas this fall, authorities found some bikes with defaced serial numbers and bikes that had been spray painted to mask their original number. Tracking a bike's serial number -- which is marked below the crank case -- makes it easier to reunite it with its owner if authorities recover it.

The city of Santa Cruz requires bike owners to register them. It had collected a $3 bicycle license fee, but the fee was killed in October 2012.

Photograph your bike and write down the serial number, model, make and identifying features. Police need the information to claim recovered bikes.

Always lock your bike, preferably with a U-lock, even during short stops.

Keep bikes indoors overnight and locked elsewhere, even in backyards.

Police can more easily track stolen bikes if they are licensed with the city. Bring the bike to the Santa Cruz Finance Department at 809 Center St., Room 101 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Licenses are free. Call 420-5070 or visit www.cityofsantacruz.com for more information.

IF YOUR BIKE IS STOLEN

In Santa Cruz, report it stolen to police at www.santacruzpolice.com. In unincorporated county areas, report it at www.scsheriff.com. In Watsonville, call 831-471-1151.Look for the bike on craigslist.org, eBay.com, the Santa Cruz Flea Market and on the street. If it is spotted online, authorities have helped theft victims arrange meetings with sellers to retrieve the bike.